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In an attempt to get a clarification over what Mrs May meant by the customs union not being a “binary decision”, Neil asked Mr Paterson, a leading Brexiteer and former Cabinet member, if he knew what the PM had meant.

Mr Paterson told the Daily Politics presenter: “Well, sadly I missed PMQs this week as well so I didn’t see the circumstances.”

Cutting him off, Neil insisted he had explained to the North Shropshire MP what had happened in the Commons, as he posed the question again.

Appearing exasperated with the BBC host, Mr Paterson snapped that it was a question he had to put to Theresa May herself.

After yesterday's referendum, here is a look at what will happen immediately following the historic vote for Britain to leave the EU.

“There are possibilities around the world to do sectional deals but it would be so much better if we were in the driving seat with likeminded allies.”

The Tory MP also insisted that Britain would not be able to strike its own free trade deals as long as it remained within the customs union.

He said: “We have agreed to pull the negotiating power to the EU which negotiates trade deals, and actually does it very badly.”

It comes after Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem accused the Foreign Secretary of presenting the British people with an "intellectually impossible" and "politically unavailable" vision of life post-Brexit.